Generally, nodes connect to each other in a computer network on a two-node at a time connection event basis. For example, friending on Facebook, following a user on Twitter or connecting on LinkedIn involves two nodes in the connection event. Collection of these events and calculations based on the collected data can define a network composed of many two-node events. One use of these networks is to identify nodes currently unconnected in the network that could be connected, for example based on a common connection that both unconnected nodes share. However, as no definitive data is available to confirm these unconnected nodes are actually related or otherwise relevant to each other, the creation of that connection can require an additional connection event, which can be another two-node connection event to confirm that the unconnected nodes should be connected to each other in the network.
This can be seen, as an example, in recommendation engines for products based upon what a person with similar attributes to you has purchased at an online store, such as Amazon, or entertainment watched, such as Netflix. There is considerable value placed upon correct and comprehensive data about what nodes connect to each other within a network by businesses. Netflix, for example, offered a bounty to optimize their algorithm for recommending entertainment choices to their customers based on other customers' potential similarities in collected data of viewing choices, habits and ratings.
This drive to add nodes and build connections between the nodes in a network is also seen with social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, in which the social networks present an activity to a user in which additional potential nodes in the network are suggested for you to connect with based on your common connections. The potential value of these networks can be providing user data and attributes to external parties for a fee such as for targeted advertisements. As recently seen in the acquisition of LinkedIn by Microsoft, the network of contacts was seen as a large portion of the value of the transaction.
In view of the value of connections in networking, it would be desirable to provide new methods for facilitating and establishing networking connections.